Strings of Fate
by Blue-sama
Summary: Life was wonderful for him, and it wasn't going to change. At least, until a strange foreign princess came and changed everything he knew about Hyrule. [Er, very post TP.]


**Legend of Zelda:**  
_Strings of Fate  
Chapter One__  
_

* * *

Morning came too soon, and, before he could grasp and remember the dream, it was over, and he was awake. Far too often he had dreams, strange ones, but none that he could remember passed dawn. He sat up in his bed, and rubbed his eyes, wincing as the sun's rays flooded his eyes. 

He was Tanith, and he was Hylian. His whole life he was lived in Hyrule, Castle Town specifically and he couldn't imagine being anywhere else. He had blonde hair - although darker than the rest of his family, and blue eyes. He had turned fourteen a forenight before, and he was finally old enough to be Blessed.

He knew it had started sometime after the Hero had defeated the darkness that covered Hyule, but exactly when or how, he had no idea. All around Hyrule - especially Castle Town - everyone become more aware of the Goddesses, and felt ashamed that they hadn't been worshipping them. Had that been the reason for the poor crops, and lack of rain, and the high tensions between the tribes? Soon, temples were built as Castle Town expanded - one temple for each of the goddesses - and the world suddenly took a turn for the better. Feuds were forgotten, as now everyone had something in common: worship of the goddesses. Soon High Priests and Priestesses were called to give guidance and counsel to the people, and then everyone wanted to be special in the Goddesses' eyes. So, each child, once he or she came of age - fourteen - was "blessed" by one of the goddesses and were expected to act in the name of and worship that one for the rest of their lives. It was just how life was now, and almost every race followed that tradition. All except for one.

"Hey, squirt! Are you finally awake?" his brother laughed, grinning and looking into the room, "I'm making breakfast today, since it is your special day." Tanith gave him a weird look, and he laughed again. "Alright, alright. I admit, it's just because Elyse went early to the Temple of Din this morning. Come on, I promised I didn't burn it." He flashed his little brother another grin, and left, waving as he did so.

That was Tanith's older brother, Faris. He was the oldest - twenty-one - and very well liked. His hair was a pale yellow, although his eyes had the same - if not more - intensity as Tanith's. He had become one of the royal guard at age seventeen, and became one of Princess Zelda's personal guards at age twenty. He was good with a sword, and was teaching Tanith at the boy's insistence. Many people liked him, and Tanith was often 'forgotten' in his older brother's glory. But he couldn't hate the man - he was too nice and loving for his own good.

So the boy clambered out of his now tangled sheets, and yawned, fixing his hair before leaving the room. He lived with his two siblings, as his parents had died when he was a small child. Faris had always been truthful, and would've never dared to not tell his younger brother and sister what had happened. Their father had died of a disease, and their mother soon died of a broken heart afterwards. At least, died because she had stabbed herself through the heart. He and his sister used to cry over it often, but soon they had learned to love and trust each other and keep themselves alive, and he could barely imagine any other life.

He strolled into the kitchen, and smirked at what he saw and smelled. Faris couldn't cook much except meat, and that was what he had cooked. His older brother smiled back, embarrassed at his lack of cooking skills. But Tanith simply laughed, and sat down at their small table next to his brother, helping himself to some food. His sister Elyse was always making sure they ate healthy - she would never let him eat too much of certain foods or too little of others - but Faris could care less, and they both ate whatever they wanted when she wasn't around.

"So today's the day," Faris said through bites of bacon, "Are you excited? Elyse is positive you'll become a Follower of Din like her, but I think you'll end up as a Follower of Farore, to complete the triangle." He grinned, and shook his head, grabbing some eggs. When Faris had been Blessed, he had become a Follower of Nayru, which everyone agreed suited his calm and passive nature. Elyse had become a Follower of Din, and decided to dedicate her whole life to the goddess, and began training to be the High Priestess of the Temple of Din. She was almost always at the Temple, and worked the hardest of anyone, except maybe High Priest Rauru, named after an ancient sage.

"I'm not sure what to think yet," he admitted, tearing through his food quickly, "But today I think I want to visit the Ordonians. It's been awhile, and Lily's birthday is coming up soon."

"Oh, your girlfriend?" Faris teased, pointing his fork at his brother, "You go to Ordon far too much, you know? Soon you'll start adopting their strange ideals! You can find plenty of wonderful girls here in Castle Town without having to chase after 'Lady Lilium.' Besides, do you think Ordon would give her up so easily to you? She is their idol, after all." Tanith scowled, and shook his head quickly.

"You're awful, Faris!" he grumbled, "I am not 'chasing after' Lily! She's a friend, nothing more! Besides, aren't you trying to set me up with Princess Zelda?"

"Trying," he grinned, "You're not taking the bait, though. She is. I talk about you a lot, and she says she would love meeting you. Although she is a bit too old for you. But if you need to go to Ordon, go to Ordon. Just say hi to Elyse before you go, will you? She hasn't seen you for two days because the Goron Patriarch came to worship at the Temple of Din, and they needed more help than ever to make sure everything went alright." Both of them got to their feet. Tanith nodded, and dashed back to his room to get some clothes on.

---

The Temple of Din was far busier than it usually was, with townspeople flooding the place to catch the glimpse of the Goron Patriarch - a rare sight indeed! Instead of the normal deep and spiritual feeling that usually covered the place, it was filled with buzz and chatter almost unfit for a temple for the Goddess Din. But the ceiling was still very far up, and the candles were still all lit up, and the windows were all stained glass depicting various heroes and royalty pledged to the goddess, along with some of herself. All of the Servants of Din were dressed in the ceremonial dresses and robes, and the High Priest Rauru was speaking to a crowd up by the statue of Din.

It wasn't hard to find his sister Elyse, as she was the only blonde female servant. To show her rank in the Temple, she had marks on her face - two on either cheek and a "v" with a dot in it on her forehead. Basically that meant she was in line to become the High Priestess. Her hair, pale and soft like Faris's, was tied up in a braided bun and her eyes - blue like her brothers' - were scanning the area, looking for trouble makers. When she caught sight of him, however, she beamed, and bounced over to him, grabbing him in a hug. She was seventeen.

"Oh, Tanny! It's seems like forever since I've seen you!" she said happily, releasing him from the hug but keeping her hands on his upper arms, "How've you been? Have you been eating alright? I know how Faris is in the kitchen. I promise I'll be home tonight. I wouldn't miss your Blessing for the world!"

"Thanks, sis," he said softly, glancing around, "Has the Goron Patriarch left yet? I don't see him anywhere." "Hm? Oh, yes, he has. You won't believe it, Tanny!" she nearly squealing, barely holding in her excitement, "I was asked to recite Din's Prayer, and he complimented me! Can you believe it? High Priest Rauru told him how I was a very likely candidate for High Priestess, and he said 'I'll be waiting for that day. I'm sure it will be a blessed one.' Isn't that wonderful? Oh, Tanny, I'm so excited! Anyway, was there a reason you came?"

"Actually, I just came to say hello on my way to Ordon," Tanith explained, "I wanted to-"

"See Lily, right?" Elyse smiled, nodding knowingly, "Tanith, you don't have time! Don't you know? Your blessing is right after lunchtime! You know you spent all day there! Go tomorrow! Besides, then you can tell your girlfriend all about your Blessing, and which goddess you'll be following! Just wait. I'm sure Lily's not going to get married if you're gone one day, Tanny." Tanith blushed, and shook his head quickly.

"How many times do I have to tell you two that she is just a friend!" he shouted, causing heads to turn towards them, both of them turning red out of embarrassment, "F-fine... But I'm going tomorrow, alright? You're not talking me out of it."

"Alright, Tanny, you love sick boy," she teased, "Enjoy your day, alright? I'll see you in a few hours! Don't forget you get your blessing at the castle from Princess Zelda herself! You should consider yourself lucky that Faris pulled so many strings for you!" They exchanged good-byes, before she had to hurry off and explain one of the stories of Din to a curious man. Tanith smiled, and sighed, turning and leaving the Temple of Din behind him.

---

Even though Faris was Princess Zelda's personal royal guard, this was the first time he had ever set foot inside of the castle. And it was much more intimidating than he thought it would be. It was bigger than the Temple of Din, and much older, easily noticeable in the faint smell in the air and the dim lighting. It had been destroyed during the Hero's time, but had been restored to full glory and perhaps more, with the stairs much fancier now and easier to get to the throne room, as Faris claimed. Guards were nearly everywhere, but he tried to be friendly - he knew quite a few of them through his older brother - and hurry along at the same time. Just now was his excitement and fear coming in. Who would he follow? What would his family say if he was blessed by the wrong goddess? Could that even happen?

When he got to the throne room - strangely placed at the top of the castle - he noticed a strange buzz, not something he would expect for a simple Blessing. Had he done something wrong? He felt his face flushing, and he was about to turn and run out when he heard his siblings calling his name, looking worried. He blinked, snapping out of hit traitorous thoughts, and hurried to their side.

"What's going on? Aren't I supposed to get my Blessing? Surely this isn't about me..." Tanith whispered worriedly to Faris, who was looking towards where all the commotion was.

"No, this has nothing to do with you, Tanith. I'm not so sure you'll be able to get your Blessing today. Something's come up," he said, strangely stern and... worried? This concerned Tanith. What could his carefree older brother be worried about? What was going on?

"Hush, you two," Elyse said softly, "I'm trying to listen!"

All around the room were Hylian nobles and guards, and talking and arguing and shouting. At the throne was Princess Zelda, and beside it was Princess Aryelle, holding onto a strange girl.

For the first time in history, the previous Queen - another Zelda - gave birth to a second daughter, which sent everyone into a fit. What would they name this girl? They couldn't have two Princess Zeldas! Eventually, the queen named her, although she, along with her husband, were assassinated a few years prior. Princess Aryelle was like Princess Zelda - blonde hair, knowing blue eyes - only with a softer, sweeter aura to her. Princess Zelda was stern, and was always professional around just about everyone, except Faris when they were alone. While Princess Zelda and Faris were the same age, Princess Aryelle was only ten years old, although very strong and smart for her age.

The room was staring and yelling at the strange girl Princess Aryelle was protecting, and Tanith could soon see why. The girl's skin was a pale blue, although whole sections of her skin were black, as if tattooed onto her body. Her hair was a deep orange red, and her eyes were red. She seemed to be the same age as Princess Aryelle. To any normal Hylian, she looked like a demon. Although a cute little girl demon, but a demon nonetheless. It was no wonder they were outraged by her appearance. Why Princess Aryelle was defending her was the mystery, though.

"Princess Zelda! Please do something about the young princess!" one of the nobles cried out, "Why is she defending this thing? It's a bad omen, I tell you!"

"This devil will bring destruction to Hyrule, I tell you! We must dispose of it immediately!" another cried, and there was a murmur of agreement through the crowd. Elyse, however, gasped, the strange girl paled, if possible, and Princess Aryelle's hold on her tightened.

"I ask for silence!" Princess Zelda called loudly once, and she got just that. Everyone seemed almost ashamed that they had spoken, and waited patiently for their ruler to address them. Princess Zelda stood up, and moved to stand next to her sister and the girl. "Before you, or even I, cast any judgement upon this creature, I would like to ask the princess Aryelle and her friend to speak in her defense, to clear our clouded minds with knowledge." The crowd seemed in awe of the princess, and nodded, all eyes - including Tanith's and his siblings' - turned towards the two children.

"My fellow Hylians," Princess Aryelle said, releasing her hold on her girl although she grabbed tightly to her hand, "What are you so afraid of? My friend means no harm to anyone! She is lost, far from home, and needs our help, not our hatred! Is this how our goddesses want us to behave? Willing to slaughter a child at any moment? I'm ashamed of all of you! You don't have the right to call yourselves Servants of the Goddesses!" While her words didn't have the effect Princess Zelda's did, everyone visibly winced, now realizing their fault. Princess Aryelle turned to her friend, and gently pushed her to the front to speak. The girl shook and stammered, fearing for her life.

"I... I am Aveil..." she said, her Hylian surprisingly well for someone so strange. She looked back to Princess Aryelle for support, for smiled softly. She smiled back, and turned to the crowd. "I... I am Aveil, Princess of the Twilight."

* * *

**A/N: **.. Okay, this was a first for me. This is the first fanfiction where I dared to have 'original' characters. But I think I did alright. The titled nearly killed me, though. Yeah, the title was the worst. Anyway, if you couldn't tell, this is set years upon years after Twilight Princess. The hero they talk about will be TP Link.. .. Because. Uh, I was thinking of giving titled to each chapter, and I probably will... once I figure out what to title them. Er, I would really love feedback on this one especially, since I got out of my bubble for this! So... pretty please? 


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